Who be newbie?
Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:38 pmHi y'all. I'm Lary and I came upon this forum while I was looking for information about turtles. My hubby and I are animal lovers but, living in a Co-op in NYC doesn't give us many choices as to what pets we can have.
Dogs are not allowed where we live; my mom is allergic to cats; ferrets are illegal in NYC; I'm petrified of rodents and most reptiles. So we currently have fish (2 pearl gouramies, 1 blue gourami, 2 gold plecos and 1 iridescent shark). They are all very small - less than 2.5" each. We had cichlids for 3 years (3 generations) but eventually they all ate each other - yuck!
We were at the pet store recently getting fish food and we always stop by to see the pets they have. Hubby thinks it would be a good idea to get a turtle but me, being so cautious about proper care for pets, wanted to do research on them since I've never had turtles before. The most important point is ... is it a pet I'm willing to clean up after since I know I'll be the one with that duty
. I've enjoyed reading through several posts here to get a better idea of what we would need if we did get a turtle and the information is soooooo great!!
I have a 10g tank (for quarantine) and a 30g tank (where the fish are now). I was considering getting a tall 20g tank if we got a turtle but reading here found that's not a good idea. If we get the turtle, I'd get the 20g for the fish and put the turtle in the 30g. We're still deciding if we should get rid of the 30g altogether and get a 55g but I'm not sure the floor will hold (we're on the 15th floor) and I don't have the space to keep more than one large tank. Since we have a balcony that faces south, we would be able to put the turtle there several hours a week to get that wonderful southern sun.
Now I'm wondering which type of turtle would be better for us: land or water. Ideas about the stock tank are great but hubby likes staring at the fish and would want to do the same with a turtle. Don't worry, he's not the type to have his face in the tank; he likes to sit at the computer or on the sofa (both in the living room where the tanks are) and watch the critters.
I've read quite a bit from those of you who have RES and I was wondering if any of you have had both water and land turtles and what your experiences were with each.
Thanks all.
Lary
Dogs are not allowed where we live; my mom is allergic to cats; ferrets are illegal in NYC; I'm petrified of rodents and most reptiles. So we currently have fish (2 pearl gouramies, 1 blue gourami, 2 gold plecos and 1 iridescent shark). They are all very small - less than 2.5" each. We had cichlids for 3 years (3 generations) but eventually they all ate each other - yuck!
We were at the pet store recently getting fish food and we always stop by to see the pets they have. Hubby thinks it would be a good idea to get a turtle but me, being so cautious about proper care for pets, wanted to do research on them since I've never had turtles before. The most important point is ... is it a pet I'm willing to clean up after since I know I'll be the one with that duty
. I've enjoyed reading through several posts here to get a better idea of what we would need if we did get a turtle and the information is soooooo great!!
I have a 10g tank (for quarantine) and a 30g tank (where the fish are now). I was considering getting a tall 20g tank if we got a turtle but reading here found that's not a good idea. If we get the turtle, I'd get the 20g for the fish and put the turtle in the 30g. We're still deciding if we should get rid of the 30g altogether and get a 55g but I'm not sure the floor will hold (we're on the 15th floor) and I don't have the space to keep more than one large tank. Since we have a balcony that faces south, we would be able to put the turtle there several hours a week to get that wonderful southern sun.
Now I'm wondering which type of turtle would be better for us: land or water. Ideas about the stock tank are great but hubby likes staring at the fish and would want to do the same with a turtle. Don't worry, he's not the type to have his face in the tank; he likes to sit at the computer or on the sofa (both in the living room where the tanks are) and watch the critters.
I've read quite a bit from those of you who have RES and I was wondering if any of you have had both water and land turtles and what your experiences were with each.
Thanks all.
Lary
